


DIFFERENT SEASONS | KLANCE

by VashWritingPro



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Angst, Bisexual Lance (Voltron), Depression, Fluff, Gay Keith (Voltron), Homesick Lance (Voltron), Homesickness, Hurt Lance (Voltron), Insecure Lance (Voltron), Keith (Voltron) is Bad at Feelings, Keith/Lance (Voltron) Angst, Kissing in the Rain, Lance (Voltron) Angst, Lance (Voltron) is a Mess, Lance is sad, Langst, Love them, M/M, Mutual Pining, Paladins, Pining Keith (Voltron), Pining Lance (Voltron), Purple, Rain, Red/Blue - Freeform, Sad, Space Husbands, Tears, blue lion - Freeform, different seasons, he just wants to go home, he misses keith, keith misses Lance too, let him go home, no, red lion - Freeform, so soft, they deserve the best
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-18
Updated: 2018-08-18
Packaged: 2019-06-29 08:56:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,503
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15726132
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VashWritingPro/pseuds/VashWritingPro
Summary: DESCRIPTION:'' YOU KNOW THAT REALLY SAPPY 'KISSING IN THE RAIN'MOMENT THAT YOU TOLD ME ABOUT? WELL, GUESS WHAT?THAT'S NOT REAL ANYMORE. NOT FOR US. ''In which an unlikely duohelp each other through thelikelihood that they will neversee their home again.XXXEXTENDED SUMMARY:After being aboard the Castle of the Lions for a few months, Lance begins to ponderwhether or not he will ever see home again. To Keith, home is wherever Shiro is. So when Shiro dies in the battle with Zarkon, it was only natural that Keith took it harder than most. It is in times of uncertainty and grieving that the unlikeliest of bonds are strengthened, and a relationship that neither paladin thought possible is formed.





	1. DIFFERENT SEASONS | CAST/PLAYLIST & 01

**Author's Note:**

> DISCLAIMERS
> 
> Voltron does not belong to me, nor do any of the characters used in this story. 
> 
>  
> 
> XXX
> 
> WARNINGS
> 
> -Swearing  
> -Violence  
> -Mentions of anxiety/depression  
> -Homophobia (Implied and/or Internalized)  
> -Major character death  
> -Other topics that may be considered triggering 
> 
>  
> 
> XXX
> 
>  
> 
> AUTHOR'S NOTE
> 
> Hello! So... This is my first Voltron story. I literally just finished season seven the morning I'm writing this. I'm so excited to be writing this! I love Lance and Keith so much, I just think they have such great character development together. Even if they don't end up together, I love their love/hate relationship with all of my heart. 
> 
> Quick note, this starts in the middle of season six. Some things will be changed for the sake of the relationship working out faster.
> 
> This is for the people who will be devastated if they don't end up together! Hope you guys like it. 
> 
>  
> 
> XXX

 XXX

 

 **JUANPA ZURITA** as **LANCE MCCLAIN**

'' _I MISS IT, KEITH. I MISS THE WARM SUMMER BREEZES, THE CRUNCH OF LEAVES UNDER MY FEET IN THE FALL... I EVEN MISS THE WINTER, WHEN IT WAS SO COLD THAT ALL YOU COULD DO WAS CUDDLE UP WITH FIVE BLANKETS AND SOME HOT CHOCOLATE. BUT YOU KNOW WHAT I MISS THE MOST? I MISS THE RAIN. THE FEELING OF THOSE WATER DROPLETS HITTING MY FACE, ROLLING DOWN MY CHEEKS AND BLURRING MY EYES._ ''

 

 **HIRO MIZUSHIMA** as **KEITH KOGANE**

'' _YOU KNOW THAT REALLY SAPPY 'KISSING IN THE RAIN' MOMENT THAT YOU TOLD ME ABOUT? WELL, GUESS WHAT? THAT'S NOT REAL ANYMORE. NOT FOR US._ ''

 

 **CHOI SIWON** as **TAKASHI "SHIRO" SHIROGANE**

‘’ _I HAVEN'T ALWAYS BEEN THIS IN-TOUCH WITH MY EMOTIONS. I GUESS ONE DAY I JUST DECIDED THERE WAS NO HOLDING BACK, AND I WAS GOING TO HAVE TO JUST THROW MYSELF INTO IT AND NOT BE AFRAID. BUT IF THERE'S ONE THING YOU SHOULD TAKE FROM OUR CONVERSATION, IT'S THIS— DON'T LET FEAR OF WHAT MAY HAPPEN HOLD YOU BACK FROM FOLLOWING YOUR HEART._ ''

 

 **LOGAN BROWNING** as **PRINCESS ALLURA**

'' _THE WAY MY FATHER SAW IT WAS THAT ONCE YOU'VE BEEN ELSEWHERE, YOU WILL NEVER BE COMPLETELY AT HOME AGAIN. PART OF YOUR HEART WILL ALWAYS LIVE ELSEWHERE. THAT IS THE PRICE YOU PAY FOR THE RICHNESS OF LIVING AND LOVING PEOPLE IN MORE THAN ONE PLACE._ ''

 

 **RHYS DARBY** as **CORAN**

'' _I USED TO DREAM ABOUT ESCAPING MY ORDINARY LIFE. OF COURSE, WITH YOU LOT HERE I'VE COME TO DISCOVER THAT MY LIFE IS ANYTHING BUT ORDINARY TO PEOPLE SUCH AS YOURSELVES, WHICH LEADS ME TO MAKING THE CONCLUSION THAT MY LIFE WAS NEVER ORDINARY; I HAD SIMPLY FAILED TO SEE HOW EXTRAORDINARY IT WAS._ ''

 

 **MILLIE BOBBY BROWN** as **KATIE "PIDGE" HOLT**

'' _THINK OF IT THIS WAY. INTELLIGENCE IS LIKE UNDERWEAR— IT IS IMPORTANT THAT YOU HAVE IT, BUT NOT NECESSARY THAT YOU SHOW IT OFF._ ''

 

 **JOHN BOYEGA** as **TSUYOSHI "HUNK" GARETT**

'' _HEY, I'M JUST SAYING, I WON'T BE IMPRESSED WITH TECHNOLOGY UNTIL I CAN DOWNLOAD FOOD._ ''

 

XXX

 

far beyond | dexter french

ocean eyes | billie eilish

lovely | billie eilish

would you be so kind | dodie

i wish you liked boys | abbey glover

blue lips | regina spektor

hold on | chord overstreet

wasted love | matt mcandrew

someone to stay | vancouver sleep clinic

collide | rachel platten

strangers | halsey

all this time | maria mena

king of the clouds | brendon urie

dying in la | brendon urie

 

XXX

'' WHY   
IS   
IT   
SO   
L O N E L Y   
UP   
HERE? ''

XXX

 

01.

 

Anxiety. It's fangs had sank into the smooth surface of his skin long ago leaving naught but a lingering feeling. No stray marks could be picked out of his flawless complexion. Not a single fault on his body, save for the tiny scar on the underside of his chin that had been received in the very place that was causing this unease. 

Earth haunted him like a child watching their brownies bake in the oven; 'A watched pot won't boil' was what his mother would have said. There would, of course, be the protests that there was not a pot in sight, and the oven was what they were using to bake their delicious treats, but his mother would have none of it. She never had been one to give in easily. When she was right, she was right, and she was never wrong. 

Lance was like a child. He wanted his brownies to bake as fast as possible so that he could enjoy them, so that he could feel good about all of the hard work that he had accomplished in order to treat himself to such a pastry. He was watching his oven, and time was clicking by, but they weren't rising. Seconds turned to minutes, minutes turned to hours, days, weeks, even months. Almost a year had gone by and they had hardly risen at all. 

He was no closer to home than he was when he had accepted his role as the Paladin of the Blue Lion. 

But then there were the distractions— The other children who would pull him away from his stage of longing and entertain him. Hunk, who would make dinner and countless delicacies, because you couldn't have dessert before you had eaten your actual meal, could you? 

Pidge, who was always coming up with different gadgets and creative spins on games when they weren't busy with their technical work on the castle or hacking into an alien database. 

Coran always had something for him to be doing, whether he was going to enjoy it or not, and if there were no chores, there were more stories than Lance believed anyone was capable of remembering. 

Princess Allura, beautiful enough to serve as a distraction on her own. But of course, that wasn't fair. She was more than a pretty face, Lance was well aware of that much, and she never failed to prove herself. Especially in piloting the Blue Lion. 

Even Shiro had been around lately, though he had been very tired, which was an understandable situation. After all, he had been brainwashed by the Galra and held captive on an alien space ship. Again. But he was always coming up with new training drills and going over strategies with the team to keep them on their toes. 

The only one who hadn't been around was perhaps the one who was most successful at distracting the childish Lance in the first place. 

Keith had been gone for months now, and Lance was starting to worry about whether or not he would come back. His late-night thoughts that he kept to himself were often drifting towards the other boy, though he wasn't exactly Lance's favorite person to think about. He was a challenge. Sometimes he was a riddle, or a mystery, and Lance wasn't afraid to admit that it was exactly the type of distraction he needed. 

Although, as he reminded himself on multiple occasions, a person should never be used in such a way. Sometimes he was glad Keith wasn't around. At least that way Lance couldn't fuck up whatever chance they actually had at being friends. Relationships were important in the castle, something Lance had come to realize in Keith's absence. The Red Lion still seemed to feel slight contempt towards him, and the brunette was willing to bet money it was because of the way he had treated her former pilot. 

So many things were constantly on the teen's mind. Earth, family, home, those were all important, but as the others were constantly reminding each other, their mission was more important. Voltron, the Lions, the defenders of the universe. As cocky as Lance acted about his position, and as much as he enjoyed being a part of something so important, he couldn't shake the urge to watch his brownies bake. He was always waiting for the day that he would see the ocean again, a stark blue standing out against the deep greens of the land patched on top of it. 

He yearned for the day that he would once again feel rain against his skin, smooth as silk, trickling down his face and into his eyes, into his mouth, the taste so fresh and bittersweet in the back of his mind. He wanted to feel the sun on his back, his sun, not some star in a galaxy billions of light years away. He wanted to see the moon in its entirety, smile up at the man within it alongside his sister and mother just like he used to every night. 

At this point, the closest he ever felt to Earth was when he looked at Pidge, Shiro and Hunk, but that was just because they were human, too. None of them carried anything from home, save for the clothes on their back and the memories embedded in their minds. Lance didn't even have a phone. Not an Earth phone, anyway. 

So his homesickness was driven deep, and it just heightened his anxiety of being in a position of unknowing. He didn't know how long it was going to be before he got home. For all he knew, his family thought he was dead. Hell, for all he knew, he could be dead before they ever got to see him again. 

The windows of opportunity that he had been leaving opened to enemies lately was dangerously wide, and, for lack of a better word, completely reckless. He knew he should treat Red better, but nothin seemed to be going right. Keith was gone, Allura was piloting Blue while wearing pink, and Lance was in Red instead of his Blue. He hated thinking like this, but he couldn't help wondering if he would ever win her back from the princess. 

Naturally, it was Allura's decision as well. She was the princess of Altea, and Lance just so happened to value her opinion over most at the moment, including his own. She was just too good to be true, which he would have assumed was to be expected of Alteans if he didn't know Coran. 

The thought made him chuckle a little bit, though his gaze was focused on nothing but the blue-tinged ceiling of his room. Everything was white here, with slight accents in color. It hadn't driven him mad yet, but Lance was fairly certain that he had read somewhere that you could go crazy from seeing too much of one color over a long period of time. 

His feet hit the cool floor beside his bed as he stood up without bothering to grab his robe or slippers. He ran a hand through his hair, still just as soft as it had always been, because he really would go insane if he didn't at least keep one normal routine going, even if it was his entire self-care routine. A sad smile tugged at his lips as he exited his room, feet making soft tapping noises against the cold floor as he walked. 

Tap, tap, tap. 

He reached the bridge quickly, but he was surprised to find nobody there. Usually someone was up doing something at all times. Perhaps they were just elsewhere in the castle. 

Lance glanced around at all of the controls, but he shook off the temptation to push buttons in favor of going down to spend time in Red. Her floor was even colder, and he was beginning to regret not even wearing socks when he finally sat down and curled his long legs underneath himself. Red came to life with a soft hum almost immediately, and even though he hadn't been planning on interacting with much physicality, Lance reached out and grasped his handles anyway. Red seemed satisfied under his gentle grip, so he stayed there, holding the grips and thinking. 

His gaze raked over the different controls and his eyes settled on the com unit. Hesitantly, Lance let go of the handle with one hand and reached towards the screen. Red seemed to move with him, if only mentally as he switched to the secret channel that Keith had taught them before he left in case they ever needed to get ahold of him. 

It was very late. Or was it? What time was it in Cuba right then? It could be lunch time. Right now, they weren't close enough to a star to have a day/night cycle. There was nothing near them. And Keith, the boy who Lance had tried to hate and refused to miss, was probably even further. 

"Keith?" Lance tried, quietly at first. He felt a bit silly. "Are you there? I know it's kind of late for a Paladin's standards... I don't know about you Blades, but I do hope you guys have a sleep schedule." God, What was he saying? Obviously Keith wasn't there. He would have told Lance to shut up already if he was. Lance sighed, running his fingertips along the cushion of Red's seat. 

"Keith..?" He tried one last time, biting the hopeful tone back in favor of sounding indifferent. When no reply came, he clicked off the com and settled back on Red's seat, frowning a bit. 

He wasn't sure if he was disappointed, or relieved.


	2. DIFFERENT SEASONS | 02

XXX

'' I   
CAN'T   
SEE   
A N Y   
OF   
IT. ''

XXX

 

02.

 

Keith knew someone had called him. Pidge said he had to, and Lance believed her due to the frequently reoccurring occasions in which she was 100% right about everything. She said that the way the coms were hooked up, Keith could see when the channel he was on had been activated from an outside source. She said he would be able to see where the message came from, which wasn't so bad, since there were a lot of people in the castle who could have sent the message. 

"Oh, and if he wanted to play it back then he could do that, too," Pidge added after a moment's thoughtfulness. "That was a feature I added myself," she stated proudly, grinning. "It's like having an answering machine!" 

Meanwhile, Lance's entire body had sunken so low to the ground that he was surprised he wasn't a puddle of embarrassment and despair already. His entire face was red, he could feel it. 

"Why so interested, anyway?" Pidge asked suddenly, casting him a sly grin immediately afterwards. "Did you send something you didn't want him to hear on accident? What were you doing in your Lion, Lance? You sly dog." This certainly wasn't helping. His blush only deepened. But he managed to get to his feet, pointing an accusatory finger at Pidge. 

"Bold of you to assume I have a bed buddy!" He snarked, scowling and crossing his arms over his chest. 

"Yeah, her name is Your Right Hand. We've met," Pidge shot back, her smirk only deepening as Lance lost it for the second time that morning, jaw dropping and arms flailing. 

"I'm left handed!" Lance protested, which was, in fact, a lie that he was now going to have to keep up around Pidge, who looked less-than-convinced. Lance averted his eyes, scratching the back of his neck awkwardly with his right hand, freezing, and switching to the left very discreetly as Pidge watched his every move. 

"Uh-huh," Pidge agreed sarcastically. "Anyway, for real now. What did you say that you're so worried about Keith hearing? Did you profess your love to him or something? Were you singing and you didn't realize the com was on? What is it, woman, what?" 

"First of all," Lance grumbled, frowning, "I am very masculine, thanks." 

"Tell that to all of your skincare products," Pidge muttered, and Hunk laughed from a few feet away where he was poking around on his control panel. Lance deadpanned, lifting a hand to touch his cheek. 

"You're just jealous," he spat out, furrowing his brow. "But you're distracting me from the point. Second of all, no, I was not confessing my love to him, because why the hell would I be in love with my biggest rival? It makes no sense." He shrugged, raising his eyebrows. He was convinced that they couldn't argue with that. 

"You haven't been talking about him like he's your rival lately," Pidge pointed out, suddenly very serious. "Ever since he piloted the Black Lion, actually. It's like a switch was flipped, and suddenly the bantering between you guys was on a totally mutual and friendly level." 

"I've gotta agree with Pidge on this one," Hunk piped up, glancing over with a bit of a smile. "You two have definitely been more cooperative. Plus, you can't even try to tell us that you weren't upset when he left to work with the Blades." Lance felt his cheeks heat up again, and he pursed his lips, shaking his head firmly. 

"Nope. Nuh-uh. Not even a little upset. Absolutely not. Hate that guy." He started walking away and sat down in the red seat, crossing his legs underneath himself and settling back. Pidge followed him over, leaning on the back of his chair and watching while he pulled out his space phone, scrolling through the pictures he had. 

They were mostly selfies with fans. He had taken those on his phone, not theirs, which confused some people, but he knew exactly why. If he was feeling particularly useless to the team, he would look back at the way those people had smiled when he walked up to them and feel a bit more encouraged. After all, in that moment, it always felt like they were smiling for him. 

Then came his pictures with the team. A selfie with Shiro, who, of course, was Lance's hero. The man had been very understanding about it, even though Lance had been ready to die of embarrassment after asking. 

"We're friends, aren't we?" Shiro had asked with a soft laugh. "Friends take pictures together all the time. Get over here." So Lance had tucked himself under Shiro's robotic arm, and he had to admit, Shiro was a lot warmer than he looked. Even the metal of his arm was satisfyingly warm on the teen's shoulders when he nuzzled in close to the man's side and let him take the picture since he had longer arms. 

There was the picture of him and Pidge when they had gotten stuck between their Lions during a training session. It was the result of a very bad idea on Lance's part, in which he decided to try and exit his Lion while they were in the form of Voltron. Pidge had left hers to go get him where he was dangling off of the head after climbing it and everyone else was laughing too hard to do a thing. Long story short, they had both fallen, and when their Lions tore away from Voltron to rescue them they ran headfirst into each other, landing on their sides in a closed circle around both Lance and Pidge. Of course, Hunk had snapped a picture of them from above, in which Lance was attempting to climb Red and Pidge was sulking in the middle of it all. 

Then came the photos of him and Hunk when they had started World Food War Two while some of the others were out on a mission. They had been planning on having dinner ready for everyone when they got back, but it just ended in a mess that both of them had to clean up. The picture showed Lance holding a pan as a shield and wielding a spoon full of food goo, with Hunk sporting a bowl over his head as a helmet and standing in mid-throw towards Lance. Shiro had snapped the picture before scolding them both, though not without a lot of repressed laughter. 

Lance didn't have any one-on-one pictures with Allura or Coran, but he had the group selfie of all of them with their Lions all crowding to get in the shot. Allura had held the phone out with her magic so everyone could be in the picture together. This had been on one of the quieter days. 

There were, of course, embarrassing pictures of each team member sprinkled in everywhere along the way, including a picture of Hunk mid-sneeze, a video of Pidge talking to the mice about quantum physics, Coran when he has the Slipperies, and countless others. 

Then he came across what could possibly be his only picture with Keith, and Pidge stopped him by putting a hand on his shoulder. 

"Is that what I think it is?" She marveled. "A picture of you two in the same place, not trying to get yourselves killed?" Lance snorted, but he looked at the picture anyway. 

"It looks like he was about to kill me anyway. Look at that murderous expression." Sure enough, Lance had snuck up on Keith in this photo. He slung an arm around the boy's neck and made a stupid face at the camera, capturing Keith's look of pure rage. 

"Yeah, he definitely had murder on his mind," Pidge agreed, grinning. 

"Guys!" Shiro called out, glancing back at them. "Could we focus? Allura and Lotor are about to enter the quintessence field. We need to be prepared to act if anything goes wrong." Lance put his phone away immediately as Pidge raced over to her seat. Lance shoved his helmet over his head, watching the spot where the Prince and Princess had disappeared. 

"I don't like this plan. It's too risky," Coran humphed, crossing his arms over his chest. The Paladins crowded around the front of the ship, watching carefully for any signs of movement. 

"You've got to remember, this isn't just a theoretical mission," Pidge reminded him. "We've done this before. We know, mathematically, that it's possible." 

"That's true!" He seemed to relax a bit, but Lance wasn't ready to let his guard down. He had learned enough during his time as a Paladin to not trust people so easily. Especially not people like Lotor. 

"But remember what happened the last time someone was exposed to this stuff?" He pointed out. "Zarkon turned totally ballistic. What if that happens to them?" 

"The quintessence doesn't create the evil within a person. It just reveals it. The trait has to already be there in the first place," Shiro argued calmly. Lance didn't reply. Maybe Shiro was right, he tried to convince himself. 

He was already on edge, so when the alarms went off, he nearly jumped out of his skin. The image of an Altean space pod showed up on the monitor, and Lance's mouth fell opened slightly. 

"Identify yourself!" Shiro's voice took it's authoritative tone, and seconds later and image flickered up onto the screen. Lance nearly fainted right then and there as the first and last person he wanted to see at the moment was presented before him. 

"Shiro! It's Keith," the boy called. "Can we land?" 

No, Lance thought grouchily. You can't land. Pidge was staring at him with a shit-eating grin on her face as Shiro gave his permission and Keith swooped in towards the castle. But Lance was already running down towards the landing pads, ignoring the surprised shouts of his friends behind him as he raced to get there as quickly as possible. He couldn't understand the sudden need to see his old rival, but it was there, tugging at his stomach ferociously and setting off a strong sense of anxiety that he felt he could shake if he just saw him. 

The ship was landing just as Lance got through the doors and by the time he was halfway across the huge space Keith was already standing outside of their spacecraft. Lance came skidding to a stop just a few feet away, eyes wide, staring at the boy like he had two heads. 

He was bigger. He looked older, like he had aged faster than the rest of them. He was taller, almost as tall as Lance himself, and his hair had grown, though it was still as wild and messy as ever. He had a more mature aura, something Lance wasn't sure he liked, especially not when those cool and sharp eyes settled on him for the first time in months. 

"Lance!" Hunk called, out of breath, from a few paces away. Everyone was finally catching up, but they stayed a few steps behind, watching with wary eyes as Lance sized Keith up, and Keith observed Lance a bit cautiously as well. The brunette took a step forward, narrowing his eyes and peering at the boy before him. 

"You're bigger!" He accused. "Where the hell have you been? We haven't heard from you in months." Keith looked surprised at the intensity behind Lance's voice, and to be quite honest, Lance was surprised, too. He had missed Keith, with his stupid mullet and grumpy face and no-fun type of attitude until Lance challenged him to something. He had missed that spark whenever a challenge was accepted, and the arguments they had when there wasn't a clear winner. 

He missed Keith. 

"I thought you wouldn't notice," Keith replied, only half-joking, but even a half-joke was a stretch for the edgelord, as Lance liked to call him. Much to the still slightly taller boy's disappointment, Keith turned away from him now, focusing on the others. "Where's Lotor?" 

"He's in the quintessence field," Pidge told him, the awe in her voice evident. "But, Keith—" 

"We need to stop him! How do we get there?" Keith asked forcefully, brushing past Lance, who jumped at the feeling of an arm grazing his own. It was crazy, but as he turned around and saw Keith walking away from him and towards everyone else, he felt sad. Sad, and tired. He could tell by the way Keith's shoulders were hunched and he struggled to keep his posture straight that he was just as exhausted, if not more. 

"We can't get to him," Pidge replied. "Why would we need to, anyway?" 

"He's been lying to us!" Keith insisted. Shiro raised an eyebrow, stepping forward. 

"About what? Keith, what is going on here?" The older man asked, reaching out tentatively to touch Keith's shoulder. The boy tensed at first, but relaxed a moment later, and Lance had a feeling that if he could see his old enemy's face then he would look just as vulnerable as he felt. 

"Everything!" Keith answered harshly, gesturing behind him. Lance turned around, eyes widening as he watched three others climb out of the pod. The odd one out would have been the wolf if it weren't for the Altean markings on the girl's face. The Galran wasn't much of a surprise either, considering the fact that Keith worked with some of them on a daily basis. 

"That's an Altean!" Coran cried out, eyes practically popping out of his head. 

"We passed into the quintessence field before," Keith said, pressing forward insistently. "Why can't we do it again and attack?" 

"Because Princess Allura is in there with him!" Lance finally spoke up, moving to stand just behind Keith, who glanced around at him. He really did look exhausted. There were dark circles under his eyes, and the sharpness they usually held when he was alert had dulled to a soft glint. 

"Look, Keith—" Shiro began, glancing around. He was visibly shaken by the sudden arrival and information. "Everyone, calm down. When they get back, we'll sort everything out." There was a soft murmur of agreement from everyone apart from Keith, who just looked frustrated. 

Lance decided to take a chance. As everyone began walking away, leading the newcomers to a new room, Lance reached out. He grabbed Keith by the wrist, tugging him back a little. Surprise was alight in those violet eyes when the raven-haired boy turned around to face him, confusion and frustration written all over his face. Lance nearly forgot what he had been about to say, cheeks becoming a light pink color out of sheer embarrassment as he just stared for a minute, completely blanking. 

"Uhhh..." He quickly let go of Keith's wrist, averting his eyes and scratching at the back of his neck. "This is going to sound really stupid, but I missed you. It's not the same around here without you being there to compete with. So... What I'm trying to say is... I'm glad you're back." He managed a small smile, tilting his head a bit. Keith didn't reply for a second, then he was smiling, too, though it was more of a smirk. 

"You're such an idiot, Lance." He turned around and started walking away, leaving a dumbfounded brunette in his wake. 

"You could've just said you didn't miss me! That would have been okay too!" Lance complained loudly, beginning to walk as well, but Keith was still ahead of him. But the mullet-head stopped, glancing over his shoulder with a much softer smile this time. 

"I did miss you, Lance. I'm just distracted." His smile faded, and he looked down at the ground. "Everything is falling apart now that Lotor has control. None of this is going to end well, I can feel it." The pained look in his eyes made Lance a bit sad. Not that he would ever admit it. He just sighed, swinging his arms in front of him awkwardly. 

"Well, whatever happens, we'll face it together," he assured the boy with a determined smile. Keith looked up, meeting his gaze steadily. 

"I hope so," he murmured. They fell into step next to each other when suddenly Keith's entire attitude seemed to shift. He almost seemed giddy. "Oh, and Lance? One more thing." The brunette raised his eyebrows, not sure he liked where this was going. 

"Next time you call me, do it when I'm not sleeping." 

Lance stopped in his tracks, face practically catching fire as he melted into a puddle on the floor. This was certainly much more that he had bargained for.


	3. DIFFERENT SEASONS | 03

XXX

‘’ I  
THINK  
HE’S   
THE   
F U T U R E . ‘’

XXX

 

03\. 

 

“Princess, step away from Lotor.” Lance’s hands were steady, though his heart was beating erratically. All the information that had been taken in in just the past few minutes alone was enough to have him terrified, though he would never show it. Instead, he focused solely on his target, blocking out the rest of the world. 

Within seconds, Allura had turned on her ally, tossing him aside like a rag doll. The hurt in her voice sent a spear through Lance’s heart. He wanted nothing more than to comfort her, to let her know that it would be alright. That there was always going to be someone out there for her, even if it wasn’t Lotor. 

Everyone had seen the way they looked at each other. It was no secret, no matter how hard she tried to hide it. And yeah, it hurt. A lot. But Lance refused to let himself get hung up on it, especially when she was a princess and he was the least useful Paladin on the entire team, not to mention a human. The arrival of this Altean proved that there could be others out there. Naturally the princess would want to be with someone of her own kind, to continue their legacy. 

The alarms broke him out of his thoughts, and he whirled around to see the screen. 

“Lotor’s team! They’re stealing the ships!” Hunk shouted. Allura’s face crumpled into something that could only be described as pure anger. A sharp scream pierced the air, and everyone turned to see Shiro, who’s knees buckled and sent him stumbling down with his head clutched in his hands. 

“Shiro!” Keith called frantically, concern lacing his tone. Allura waved him away towards the doors, shaking her head. 

“Keith, take Krolia and Pidge down to the hangers and stop them from stealing the ships. Lance will help me secure Lotor and Hunk can help Shiro with Coran.” The team glanced around at each other, and Lance met Kieth’s eyes. For the first time in his life, the brunette had a clear view of what the ravenette was thinking. 

He was reluctant. He didn’t want to leave his brother and mentor behind. He was scared. Scared of the possibilities. He had lost Shiro before, of course he didn’t want to let it happen again. Lance stepped away from the group and walked over to him, tugging his teammate aside. 

“I’ll make sure they take care of him,” the boy murmured, holding Keith’s gaze steadily. “I know you don’t exactly trust me as much as you trust other people, but I—“ 

“I do trust you,” Keith cut him off, pressing his lips together into a thin line. Lance’s eyes went wide out of pure shock. Keith trusted him? The emo kid who kept to himself and barely spoke to anyone trusted him? Well, wasn’t that something? 

“O-Oh.. Right, then, we’re good then. I’ll make sure he’s okay. You can go without worrying.” 

“Keith, hurry!” Krolia yelled from the door, and the dark-eyed boy flinched, drifting towards his mother. 

“Thank you,” he told Lance firmly, before taking off. Lance turned back around, and a horror scene was unfolded before him. 

Shiro’s eyes opened, revealing bright purple orbs, completely different from the usual thoughtful and dark serenity that usually enhanced them. His arm was alight with Galran technology and he landed a solid strike right in Hunk’s gut, sending him flying. 

“Shiro!” Allura shouted indignantly, getting up from where she had been dealing with Lotor and beginning to walk over. Lance automatically put himself between them, reaching for his Bayard, but before it could even materialize a dull ache was spreading in his abdomen and his cheek was hit by some crackling form of electricity, causing him to explore a type of pain he had never experienced before. Magical pain. Take it from him, it wasn’t as good as it sounded. In fact, it was the opposite of good. It was only added to by the pain of his back hitting the wall of the castle when he landed, sliding down and landing in a heap. 

He could barely keep his eyes opened and in focus. Everything was blurry, but he thought he saw a black and white figure picking up something purple and jogging out the door. He struggled to his feet in an attempt to follow their leader, but was overcome by the throbbing in his head and stomach. He doubled over, hardly noticing as one arm was pried away from his middle and slung around Allura’s shoulder. 

“Lance, Hunk, can you pilot your Lions?” Keith’s voice rang in through his helmet. Lance shook his head to clear it and forced himself to stand up a bit straighter as Hunk gave the O.K., taking a deep breath. 

“We’ve got this,” he said, forcing the certainty into his voice. He pulled away from Allura as if to prove his point and straightened up even though it was agonizing, putting one foot in front of the other on the way to his Lion. Keith insisted they form Voltron, choosing to once again pilot the Black Lion in pursuit of Shiro and their stolen ships. Once Lance was sitting down in the Lion it was better, and he just had to focus on a specific breathing pattern that didn’t irritate the bruise as much. He decided nothing was broken, but he knew he was going to have a nasty bruise due to the ache that was beginning to dull slightly since he allowed himself to walk it off. 

They headed out immediately and fired on sight, barely grazing the ships at all. Keith went after Shiro while Lance and the others stayed back to fight Lotor’s team. The smaller ships were much faster, and their weapons were quicker to fire. Lance felt himself get hit once, twice, and even though they were just slight grazes, Red was getting irritated. 

“Keith!” He heard Pidge shout, and Hunk cried something indiscernible right after. His friends were in distress. Lance turned his Lion around and headed for them, only to see Keith taking control of the situation. Relief flooded in, masking his pain if only for a mere moment. Lance even found it in him to smile a bit as he watched Keith swoop in. 

“We’re no match if we stick with our Lions!” The male’s voice rang out into his ear. “Everyone, form Voltron!” Lance shot forwards immediately, getting into formation and watching as his lights flickered while they transformed and the space in front of him became a bit more compacted and the places behind him changed completely. 

Nearly the moment they had transformed, the other three ships formed a triangle. Their beams came together as one. Lance moved instinctively, slamming the handles forward and twisting them in the way he had memorized not too long ago. Their shield appeared, and they were blasted back against a meteorite, pinned by the force of the beam. 

“Coran, destroy the rock we’re pinned against with the ship’s weapon system!” Keith instructed. There was an audible zapping noise as the ship fired it’s weapon at the rock, and an even louder crash as it exploded behind them. Lance helped jerk them aside and out of the way of the purple light, only to feel a tugging sensation, as if he were being pulled backwards. Chains of purple were snug around their waist, dragging them back towards and even bigger rock, and this time the impact was enough to send Lance’s head spinning once more. 

“Who’s got eye son Shiro?” Keith asked immediately once everyone had recovered. All eyes went in different directions until something big enough that it was pretty hard to miss materialized in front of them. 

“A wormhole!” Allura cried out. “Hagar!” She cursed. “It must be Hagar! She has the ability now. But how?” 

“We don’t have time to worry about that right now!” Keith insisted. Impatience and worry leaked from his voice, and Lance wondered if he was the only one who detected the slight tremor in it as he spoke. “We have,to focus on finding Shiro!” 

“But Shiro isn’t Shiro anymore,” Hunk pointed out. Immediately, Lance could feel Keith’s frustration coming off of him in waves. Big mistake on Hunk’s part. 

“I know!” Keith hissed. “There’s something wrong with him! I don’t know what, but you guys know Shiro would never give up on us. So we can’t give up on him!” Lance was 100% on board with this. He knew Keith was absolutely right, and he was almost tempted to just break apart from the group and usher them along that way instead of waiting for them to all move together as one. 

Finally, they began to move. Lance watched as they seemed to move in slow motion, while Shiro and the other three ships steadily made their way through the portal and it began to close. 

“One of my thrusters is down, can anyone compensate?!” Keith shouted. Lance glanced at his screen, but his power core was fried. Pidge voiced the same problem, and Hunk agreed along with Allura. 

“I can get us a thirty second mega-boost, but that’s it!” Hunk piped up suddenly, activating it immediately. “Eighty percent left! Seventy five! Fifty! Thirty six! Twenty percent! Fifteen!” He seemed to hesitate a bit, before forcing out the rest. “Eight percent.. Keith, we aren’t going to make it! We’re too heavy!” Sure enough, the hole was already almost too small for Voltron as a whole. 

“Disband!” Keith ordered. 

“What?!” Lance practically shouted. He knew where this was going. “Are you crazy?” 

“The energy from breaking apart might get me through in time!” Keith insisted. “It’s better than letting them get away, just do it!” 

“No, we just got you back!” Lance protested. Keith, I—“ but he was cut off by the familiar pull of everyone disconnecting, and he was sent spiraling aside as well. 

The last he saw of the Black Lion was it’s purple streak as Keith disappeared into the other side, alone, and unprepared.


End file.
